Nose: Fruit funk (overly ripe bananas and coconut), salted caramel, barrel ding and black pepper, and a gentle smoke note. Palate: Tart fruits. Rich dates, raisins, even almost a raspberry. The coconut shows up as does the overly ripe banana funk, but in a good way. The tart fruits open into a dark chocolate and salted caramel and finishes with lingering fruits and a gentle smoked finish. Light black pepper notes stay with the entire sip, almost like a texture. Final notes: This whisky completely surprised me. I have a strong love for many of Campbeltown's offerings and this is currently my favorite. I was expecting a much bigger peat explosion but was pleasantly surprised, and yes, I love peat bombs. The palate and nose are incredibly rich and oily and stay with you long after a sip. In a way, it gives a slight rum impression with the coconut and banana funk but it's absolutely lovely. I think this is a bottle that any Campbeltown lover should have in their collection and honestly is a perfect expression to introduce any whisky lover into the region. Realistically, I'd prefer to rate this truly as a 4.6 rather than a 4.5, but Distiller does not give me that option and I wouldn't particularly call it a 4.75. If a cask strength bottling was ever released (if it hasn't been), that would be a bottle I would equally be interested in to explore it's purest form. Overall it's an excellent whisky to explore on it's own, however it does a remarkable job of holding it's own if you were pairing with food or a cigar. I'd recommend a heavier, oily cigar with darker caramel notes or something with umami notes. Personal recommendations would be a RoMa Craft Aquitaine or D&T Red Meat Lovers cigar. Disclaimer: I did not see a distinction on here between the first and second edition of the Springbank 18 bottlings. The bottle I am reviewing is the first edition.